We are, apparently, the angry left. We are a "
digital lynch mob." Richard Cohen thinks that we're going to hurt the Democrats with our crazy ranting. Perhaps Cohen, however, should take a look at both sides of the political spectrum before he starts making accusations.
Mr. Cohen, why do you think the conservatives have been doing so well in recent years? Why do you think that they have won election after election? It's certainly not because of their record of helping the working and middle classes. It's not because of their great diplomatic skills. It sure as hell isn't because of their intellect.
Conservatives have found something that enables them to appeal to vast numbers of Americans: rage. Abortion, gay marriage, welfare, secularism, Hollywood, sex, drugs, the "liberal" news media, whatever - these are all things that conservatives have promised to "fix." They get Americans all riled up about certain "problems," which they say they'll fix once they get elected. If you get rid of those issues, you get rid of the hold that the right has on America.
Stephen Colbert actually summed it up pretty well back in March:
By enraging each other, we are serving the best interest of democracy. Because as recent history as shown us, righteous fury seems like the best way to get people to the polls. That's why gay marriage, gay adoption, and gay teachers are urgent problems only in years that end in even numbers. Being this offensive isn't going to be easy, but we have got to keep it up until the mid-term election. Because unless Republicans get their base out to the polls, they are so fucked.
Sure, we're angry. We're angry about being lied to, about being taken advantage of, about losing our civil liberties. And what are we doing with our rage? Oh yeah, we're writing angry letters to newspaper columnists.
Conservatives, on the other hand, used their "righteous fury" to con people into voting for their candidates. They managed to get the working classes to switch from the Democratic party to the Republican party. They used issues like abortion and gay marriage to get people into office, where the politicians then worked on dismantling social programs and cutting taxes for the wealthy. The working class folks who chose their candidates based on their rage ended up getting screwed.
The anger of the right led the American people to vote away their power. The anger of the right led to corrupt politicians and scandals. It led to an illegal war and a greater class divide. If people are going to complain about anger in American politics, they need to start by looking at the right.